Southern Mississippi: Diversity in NPC Sororities
 

Several Southern Mississippi chapters of NPC sororities have members who are African-American, of Hispanic origin, or in other ways different from the "traditional" white membership associated with the NPC at many/most schools. Some of their comments, among other things, are in a recent article from school paper's site:

http://www.studentprintz.com/greek-l...857?MMode=true

"The Student Printz
Greek Life is color blind
By Justin Mitchell
Published: Monday, November 28, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 01:11"

LOLLLLLLL...

Especially since the article begins with the woman being proud to be the first African American sister of that chapter of Pi Beta Phi.

And LOL at a Black member of Zeta Phi Beta being put in a photo that says "...represent the diversity in their respective sororities."

DrPhil, I see your point. Just wanted to note that I did not say "Greek life is color blind" -- that's from the article. Even I am not stupid enough to think or say that.

I know, hence the quotation marks that I added.

This is so wrong of me, but I bet that's every non-white member of the NPC groups there.

ETA: I wish the fact of diversity in NPC groups was not newsworthy.

Thanks. Oh, speaking of thanks, I hope GCers had happy Thanksgivings.
(Golly, that was a lane swerve.)

It's interesting that NPHC girls help with NPC recruitment.

That was my first thought when I saw the photo (that includes a member of Zeta Phi Beta).

It reminded me of the Bid Day Pics thread when some NPCers were marveling over the diversity...and there were only 1-3 nonwhite members in the photo. A sprinkle of non-(insert predominant race) is not diversity and that's especially the case if the reaction to the sprinkles is going to be "race doesn't matter...we don't see color."

It's also the title of the article. :)

Other NPC sororities there have had AA members. She's certainly not the first.

I think you're missing the point.


Ridiculous article.

I see it as a start. It kind of reads as a press release from CPC saying, look how inclusive we are! Yeah us! But the fact is it's not that long ago that having any women of any color other than white would be unheard of. My follow up question is, are these women going to be tokens and we can't allow a 2nd black woman to pledge or we'll become the house with all the black girls, or can they move on and pick members based on their other many attributes and leave this one as a footnote? Being big enough to pick "one of them" is easy. Being big enough to not care is something completely different.

I don't know the demographics of Southern Mississippi. How diverse is the student population? I'm guessing the sororities are about 1% non-white (I guessed 130 members, 1 black woman, 1 other woman of color). The student population is probably quite a bit more diverse than that, but you have to start somewhere.

And every time a student article is referenced here it gets crucified (justifiably in my opinion) for horrendous writing. The fact that the writer of this article probably thought the title was awesome (and how cool are we?) to me just cries out for better writing and students who are a smidge more aware of the world around them.

Here is their report from last year from their office of institutional research:
http://www.usm.edu/sites/default/fil...it_2009-10.pdf

I suppose they included a picture of the ZPB member because she was a CPC Rho Chi, and thus a leader in the CPC community without being a member? I'm really surprised by that collaboration -- have NPHCers heard of this happening elsewhere? On the one hand, CPC recruitment is totally apples and oranges compared to NPHC, and part of the Rho Chis' job is to help PNMs avoid focusing on just one GLO (which is exactly what any successful NPHC aspirant did). On the other, no one could be more unbiased about the CPC sororities than someone not a member of any.

Doing a little digging, they have made a public statement (the Sigma Initiative) that they want to grow their Greek system. If I were trying to expand my Greek system and more than 1/3 of the student population was not white, I'd probably start trying to increase the gene pool, so to speak. From their website, 14% of the student population is Greek.

Total Undergraduate Students 12,383
Gender
Women 7,594 61%
Men 4,789 39%
Race/Ethnicity
International 77 1%
Race/Ethnicity Not Reported 669 5%
African American / Black 3,749 30%
American Indian / Alaskan Native 54 <1%
Asian / Pacific Islander 150 1%
Hispanic 188 2%
White 7,496 61

And yet again, they've buried the lead. The story that they want to grow their Greek system and part of that is welcoming a more diverse population into traditionally white sororities would have come off more authentic and dare I say, more interesting.

Being a Rho Chi DEFINITELY does NOT = being "a leader in the CPC community." Many times, Rho Chis get encouraged to do it by their sorority because they suck at rush or are not that cute. Or else they are self aware enough to know they suck at rush and are more of a hindrance than a help at their GLO's parties.

This all being said, Rho Chi isn't an "award" you get for being the most involved in Panhellenic or the Greek community as a whole. Ideally, it's something that the women most qualified for the position (i.e. very empathetic and realistic) will end up doing.

As far as the ZPhiB sister being a Rho Chi, that's as odd to me as...hmmm...a Pi Phi planning AKA's next rush event would be.

It is strange. An NPHCer being a Rho Chi only makes sense in the rare instances where NPHC orgs participate in recruitment.

I think they got the Zeta to be a Rho Chi because she is Black and the school wanted to use an additional Black Rho Chi to attract racial and ethnic minority PNMs.

I've heard of schools that use older alums (mother types) for Rho Chis, as well as local alums of sororities not present on campus. There are many stories out there about Rho Chis who laughingly admit that yes, they did influence PNMs' choices or sneak off and call their chapters about certain girls so CPC was probably thrilled to have a great non-NPC woman as a Rho Chi.

After reading so many threads about the topic of NPC orgs being predominantly white got me thinking.

At my campus, which is what I consider diverse, our NPC orgs I believe closely reflect the overall student population. It is not a sprinkle here or sprinkle there but truly diverse. Maybe it is me just being naive but I assumed more (if not most) campuses were like that, is that not true?

http://www.suresister.com/sororityre...f-two-campuses

The discussion here reminded me of this page, specifically Campus B. I have no idea if it is accurate or not.

Oh, honey, unfortunately not. The South still has a lot of work to do.

Google some chapter websites at Southern universities. You're not going to find many non-white faces in NPC organizations. It's a shame.

Thinking about the non-NPCer helping with Formal Recruitment is odd. Although I really like the idea. If done well it could really bring the Greek community closer. Not only would they be impartial but they could also help counsel those PNMs who are torn between NPC and NPHC/MGC.

That seems to reduce the whole point behind being an impartial Rho Chi. There is definitely nothing impartial about counseling PNMs who are torn between councils or conferences. If all the Rho Chi would say is "research and follow your heart" then that is not counseling. And if I were an NPHCer dealing with PNMs, I would not want to discuss anything pertaining to NPHC orgs. Let them research and figure it out on their own. If they can't do that, they need to not be in recruitment. The campuses that I am familiar with would label such a person as desperate to belong to something...anything...and they better hope they get a bid because the NPHC orgs will not want the person.

And if people are in favor or an NPHC participating in NPC recruitment, let the record show that I hope an NPCer will not be participating in any NPHC aspirant programs in that manner.

I'm not doubting that she's awesome. I'm saying that going outside your own conference is a very dicey and possibly inappropriate thing. This is kind of along the lines of Alpha Phi Omega members serving on/being officers of their campus IFC. It's nothing personal against the person, it's a matter of staying in your lane.

That's something that is a great idea, but it should be its own program/workshop - not a part of rush. If the school is so in favor of women looking at NPC/NPHC/MGC groups on an even footing, the first thing to do is to get rid of first semester rush for NPC. DrPhil is right, if a woman goes through NPC rush, doesn't make it, and THEN tries to go NPHC, she isn't getting far. And that needs to be said, not glossed over.

Campus B is a lovely charming idea, but I think she's either describing Happy Pony Rainbow Land, or else a campus where everyone has LOTS of money and LOTS of time.

She's also being ridiculous (nothing new LOL) in saying that women apply to "escape chapter recruitment responsibilities" and make it sound like that's the prevailing factor. As I've said, I suck at rush. I'm great at chatting up women at parties, class etc, but I suck hard at formal rush. I wanted to be a Rho Chi not to avoid putting up decorations or practicing skits, but to help my chapter!

I'll also wager that some of the women who do become Rho Chis for the "wrong" reasons end up being the most panhellenically minded and devoted women out there - just like some of the people who join only to party end up being supersister and exec board for 3 years. Greek unity isn't something you can fake or confine to a certain group. If EVERYONE isn't on board, it doesn't make a shit of difference how wonderful your Rho Chis are.

No, we don't counsel students on which organization to choose.

A lot has to change before that happens.

I honestly do not want the average woman to equally consider NPHC and NPC. I wanted to be a Delta, and in an NPHC org in general, for a number of reasons including the beauty of women of the African Diaspora coming together. For starters, in general, most NPC GLOs still pretend to have no racial, ethnic, and cultural foundation.

I'm not thinking counseling so much as I am a program where women can hear about the different types of groups and ask questions without feeling they're committing one way or the other. Very bare bones basics, not "how many Deltas do I have to talk to to get into Delta?" or other silliness like that.

If even that would cause NPHC chapters to turn thumbs down on someone, though, well then, forget it.

Some schools already have "meet the Greeks" programs. My chapter hosted a Greek panel with NPHC chapters and non-NPHC chapters.

It depends on the campus and the students.

Bwah ha ha.... although the truth does hurt, I do appreciate you telling it like it is (or how it can be).

Wow.
We already complain about how many Rho Chis are poorly trained and give bad or incorrect info to PNMs.
How would somebody from a totally different type of system do better?

The point is the impartiality. In my experience, very, very few rho chis were not in contact with their chapters during FR.

Besides, I prefer a rho chi who says "I don't know the answer to that; Iet me pull out my rulebook" over one who gives wrong answers.

So do some northern campuses. The campuses I'm aware of with the most thoroughly diverse NPC chapters are private schools in the North...but there are also northern and western campuses where the NPC chapters are virtually all white, or all white and Asian on a campus with lots of unaffiliated black and Hispanic women.

The South is also not the only region where you'll find systems where "lower-tier" chapters are making all the diversity progress, while the "elite" chapters remain very white. The same is often true when it comes to diversity of body type, disability, and economic background.

I wasn't making my comment re the south in the context that this is the only part of the country where this is an issue. My comment was made in the spirit of that's where I live, and that's where my experience is.

Oh, of course -- I didn't mean to correct you, just to supplement with my northern observations, too.

There's an AKA in that same photo.

Who invited an AKA to the party?

An AKA and a Zeta who represent the diversity in their respective organizations. Is that AKA also a Rho Chi? Questions...questions....

They really should have included a Delta too, right? :D

That would be even more unfortunate. :)

I haven't weighed in on the NPHC Rho Chis, so I will. Honestly, the paths to membership are so different that I would think that it's weird. Of course, NPC rush has so many rules that if a person is capable of learning the rules without bias for her own group, then perhaps that person may be an excellent Rho Chi.

OK, I just realized that I really don't have an opinion on this issue. It is weird because recruitment vs. intake is so different, but if that's what they want to do, then whatever.

My school allowed women who had joined through COB to be Rho Chis. I don't see how NPHC-affiliated women are any different. Neither have gone through formal rush.

Whether COB or formal rush, the person is an NPCer.

Maybe I need a refresher course on what the purpose of a Rho Chi is.

IMO, a good Rho Chi does three things well:

1) Counsels women who are disappointed when then get a schedule they aren't expecting or have trouble making choices, etc.

2) Explains the rules of FR clearly and correctly to the PNM.

3) Knows the rules of FR and keeps her eyes open for refractions.

I don't think that a women who joins through COB can do #1 any better than someone who is not an NPC'er. If you've never been through FR as a PNM, you can not know what it is like to go through FR as a PNM. I would even take it a step further, and say that a woman who had a generally happy and successful recruitment can not know what it is like to be a PNM who gets only one invite back after the first round.

I would argue that, in many situations, neutrality helps with counseling PNM's. If you are a member of XYZ, and a PNM comes to you saying she just can't decide between ABC and XYZ, you can not really be impartial, as much as you'd like to be. Also, you just might let the fact that Pattie PNM is not a sure thing slip to the members of your chapter participating in membership selection.

As for #2, many women who have been through FR do this poorly, and we've talked many times about the need for better Rho Chi training. The fact is, though, the average member who may become a Rho Chi likely has no more knowledge of the complicated rules than someone who has not been in an NPC group.

And #3, again, a non-NPC woman could arguably be more fair in keeping her eyes open and/or reporting violations once she has learned the rules in Rho Chi training.

So, if you consider these the most important duties of a Rho Chi, there is no reason to think that an NPHC woman couldn't do them just as well as an NPC member.

Of course, I am talking about my experience on a big campus, where FR was, unfortunately, pretty adversarial among NPC groups. I think that, on other campuses, it may be more important for Rho Chis need to do more stuff like "promote NPC recruitment, generally", in which case, NPHC women would not be the appropriate people to do that.

Certainly, I don't think NPHC women should be obligated to help out with FR just because they are members of the CPH or anything, but I also think that non-NPC women can be very valuable to the FR process on some campuses.